Gunkan
'Gunkan''' (軍艦), also known as Captain Battleship in the English dub, is a character from the manga and anime series Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. He is the first of the Maruhage Four Heavenly Kings, as well as Bo-bobo's former friend and sworn rival. Alternate names: Capitan Incrociatore in the Italian anime, Cañonero in the Spanish anime. Background Gunkan is a man with a long black pompadour hairstyle and a white beard. He wears a green shirt version of Bobobo's original outfit with red lederhosen straps attaching to blue trousers with brown shoes. He and Bo-bobo share the exact same body build; a large upper-body build, and very thin legs. Personality Gunkan can be sinister, as he exploits Heppokomaru's weakness for Beauty, and has destroyed countless towns and his own fellow Hair Hunters. He also uses Bo-bobo as a scapegoat to blame for his attacks on the Hair Hunters. Being a hajikelist, he can be extremely random and weird at times. Gunkan also comes off as a liar, saying that Heppokomaru is the real villain, and even lying about the origin of his hatred towards Bo-bobo (a tale about their school days, and another one involving giant robot versions of Bo-bobo and himself). Despite all of these bad traits, Gunkan has been shown to have a sensitive and emotional side. Relationships Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Suzu Heppokomaru Flowerman History Past Gunkan was the oldest son of an average family and was born in the Hair Kingdom. When he met Bo-bobo for the first time, he trained hard in the Hanage Shinken in order to be acknowledged. Gunkan wanted to be acknowledged because he wanted to have a purpose in his life. He and Bo-bobo were described as fierce competitors as well as close friends. Unfortunately, Bo-bobo was chosen by his master as the Seventh Master of Hanage Shinken because he was a Hair Kingdom descendant, despite being weaker than Gunkan. Because his pride was crushed, Gunkan decided to seek revenge against the Hair Kingdom. He didn't do anything when the kingdom was attacked by the Maruhage Empire and was glad it was destroyed. Bo-bobo was infuriated by Gunkan's indifference and the two of them became rivals. Years later, the two rivals met again. Gunkan had just knocked out the last of the Hanage Shinken warriors (all of which had afros and sunglasses like Bo-bobo) when Bo-bobo himself challenged him. Gunkan had changed so much, that Bo-bobo did not recognize him; he had gone from being Bo-bobo's black-haired friend, to a large man with a white beard and a ridiculously large ducktail hairstyle. The two of them fought their battle using the Hanage Shinken, ending in a draw. A little while afterward, he met a strange creature by the name of Flowerman. He and Flowerman became fast friends and with all Gunkan's time spent with him, he began to forget all about his grudge with Bo-bobo. But one day, Gunkan woke up to find that Flowerman had been killed by his worst enemies, the flower demons. Furious, Gunkan immediately killed the demons, and refocused his hatred towards Bo-bobo. Gunkan, still upset at the Hair Kingdom and Bo-bobo, joined the empire to become its very enemy: a Hair Hunter. As Bo-bobo trained for 20 years to get strong, Gunkan worked his way up until he was one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Tsuru Tsurulina IV may have respected him, but Gunkan wanted more. To that end, he secretly plotted with his minions to control the empire. During those years he met Suzu, a blonde psychic who would be his second in command and destroyed countless villages. After destroying Heppokomaru's hometown, Pupuu City, he had taken an interest in his shinken's ability to hide one's true strength. He had become the leader of a massive army of powerful warriors and was still waiting for Bo-bobo to show up so he could finally pay him back for taking what he thought was rightfully his. He finally got that chance after Bo-bobo had taken down A-Block's leader, Tokoro Tennosuke. Bo-bobo encountered Gunkan again after applying for a job at a local hair hunter recruitment station. Heppokomaru immediately recognizes him as the one who destroyed Pupuu City, but Gunkan claims otherwise, saying that Heppokomaru is the true villain. After the liar is finally revealed, Gunkan gets fed up and orders one of his assistants, Dollman, to turn Beauty into a doll. He picks up the doll and tells the rebels that if they ever want to see Beauty again, then they will have to meet him at his new base in Pupuu City. Gunkan and Pomade Ring Gunkan controlled his vast military forces from the "Pomade Ring", a sky fortress flying over the destroyed Puppu City (Heppokomaru's hometown). He forces the rebels to fight through six of his strongest henchmen, during which Bo-bobo was the only one able to defeat his opponent. This made Gunkan overconfident, and he began to celebrate with two of his henchmen. But during his celebration, he pushes a button that sends the Pomade Ring crashing to the ground. Once on the ground, he goes searching for Bo-bobo, only to find that Softon has sent to Babylon World. To pass the time, he Softon and Heppokomaru decide to build a brick house, but he secretly tricks Heppokomaru into sealing Softon into the wall. When Bo-bobo finally returns, the two begin their showdown. Although Gunkan's powers are great, Bo-bobo reveals his trump card: the one nosehair move that Gunkan could not master: "Nosehair Alley". During the nasal hair onslaught, it is revealed inside Gunkan's mind that he didn't mean what he said about the Hair Kingdom, and that he didn't really want to rule the world. All he really wanted was Bo-bobo's respect. After the attack, Bo-bobo tells Gunkan that he is the stronger of the two. Gunkan begins to cry, and runs up to Bo-bobo to apologize to him, but Bo-bobo strikes him down for "crying like a baby". OVER and the Legendary Idiot Killer The next time Bo-bobo and company sees him, he's unconscious and had been scalped for his failure by OVER. After Bo-bobo defeats OVER, the castle comes crumbling down. Luckily, Suzu teleports him and everyone else out of the tower. The Playoff and the Reverse Maruhage Empire He later participated in the fifth Maruhage Empire New Emperor Playoff (up to this point, his ducktail had grown back. He and Suzu were both finalists, but LOVE and Crimson show up looking for strong people to sacrifice. He almost becomes the last victim, but Bo-bobo intervenes and switches Gunkan's unconscious body with a pig, thus saving his life. Though unconscious, he assists Bo-bobo in reaching the Reverse Maruhage Empire's floating warship (there is a button in his chest that makes his hair become really long). Gunkan in Shinsetsu Gunkan later appears in Shinsetsu, where he is shown unconscious (again) after a beating from Usui, Princess Chinchiro, and GURA-san the punisher. Afterward, he and Suzu are forcibly moved to a Neo Maruhage Prison for their failures to the empire in the past. He appears later on with Suzu, Dengakuman, and Giga to get revenge for being worked like a slave, only to be crushed by GURA-san. In the end, he is shown attending Tennosuke's Hair Hunter reunion with Suzu. Video Games Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo: Nosehair Technique - Explosive Hanage Shinken Gunkan appears as the final boss of game. He stars the exact same roll as he does during the Pomade Ring arc in the manga, even making his first appearance in the game inside the hair hunter recruitment office. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Hajike Festival Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Gag Fusion of the Nine Ultimate Warriors Gunkan first appears at the top of C-Block right after the defeat of Kabeo. Gunkan lately appears again on the Train, along with the rest of the Four Heavenly Kings. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Explosive Battle Hajike Wars I Will Make the Regent Kingdom!! (リーゼント王国を作るぞ!!): *'Vs. Don Patch': *'Vs. Softon': *'Vs. Tokoro Tennosuke': *'Vs. Dengakuman': *'Vs. Torpedo Girl': *'Vs. Serviceman': *'Vs. Hatenko': *'Vs. Heppokomaru': *'Vs. OVER': *'Vs. Halekulani': *'Vs. Denbo': *'Vs. Bo-bobo': *'Epilogue': Gunkan can be unlocked if you beat the game 5 times and buy him in the shop for 5000pts. Abilities & Powers This regent-haired, white-bearded fighter had also been trained in the "Hanage Shinken" alongside Bo-bobo in the Kingdom of Hair, but turned against his afro-haired friend when Bo-bobo was chosen as the Seventh Master of the Hanage Shinken by their teacher (a juice can) because Gunkan was not a citizen of the Hair Kingdom. Afterward, he modified the technique to fit his own style, calling it the "Garyu Hanage Shinken". It makes him the fourth greatest power in the Empire. Though it may be a copy of Bo-bobo's Hanage Shinken, it is indeed powerful enough to wipe out enemies easily. Gunkan mastered this art so that even his ducktail hair style can be used as a weapon. While most of the attacks are his own, his ultimate attack, "Armageddon", has him calling up the Earth Defense Forces to attack for him. Like Bo-bobo, he can also perform fusion, but it results in an absolutely pathetic form. As a Hanage Shinken user and hajikelist, he is bound to be a little weird (turning into an octopus, blowing up his own ship, having poor knowledge of numbers). On a lesser note, his ducktail seems to be very strong, as it can support 13 people walking on it at once. Attacks Video Game-Exclusive Attacks *'Regent Bazooka' (リーゼントバズーカ): *'Blood Killer Self-Taught Nosehair Revolution' (斬血我流鼻毛レボリューション): *'Scissors of the West' (西部のハサミ): Forms & Transformations Octopus Jagged Heart Lullaby (ギザギザハートの子守唄): Gunkan fuses with a knife to become this form. It is a literal representation of its title (which is the name of an actual lullaby). Despite how strange it is, this form is completely useless. * Battleship Roll of Green Onion and Tuna: In the anime, this form replaces Jagged Heart Lullaby. Gunkan fuses with the Don Patch Sword to become a piece of gunkan maki (軍艦巻), also known as battleship sushi. Just like the form it replaced, it is also completely useless. Appearances *'Anime Appearances': 5 (Shadow), 10 (Cameo), 16-21, 31-33, 35, 74-76 *'Manga Appearances': **'Original Series': 34-37, 39-40, 44-48, 85, 92, 162, 176, 179 **'Shinsetsu Bo-bobo': 40, 42, 51, 56, 72-73 *'Video Games': **Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo: Nosehair Technique - Explosive Hanage Shinken **Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Hajike Festival **Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Seriously!!? Shinken Battle **Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Gag Fusion of the Nine Ultimate Warriors **Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Explosive Battle Hajike Wars Trivia *According to Purupu, Gunkan was the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings. This is very subjective, as it took numerous episodes/chapters to reach Gunkan and then defeat him, and it only took one episode/chapter to defeat Purupu. Even further still, Bo-bobo was forced to recruit two enemies (Softon, and Tennosuke), and had to train in Babylon World to defeat him. In fact, it seems that he was the longest lasting of the Maruhage Empire Four Heavenly Kings in terms of arc time in the anime. *Despite his reconciliation with Bo-bobo, Gunkan technically never changes sides, and does little to assist the rebels, aside from assisting them in reaching Hydrate's Yamiking, while unconscious. However, Bo-bobo does tend to encounter and help him out several times after their fight, including saving him from OVER, Hydrate and GURA-san the Punisher. *While Bo-bobo was weaker than Gunkan when they were chosen, being of the Hair Kingdom, Bo-bobo has the Hair Ball inside of him, so he may have had more potential than Gunkan; as Bo-bobo mastered the one technique that Gukan couldn't. Furthermore, Bobobo has the Nosehair Seal though it is unknown if Gunkan also has this. *In Japan, his hairstyle is called a "Riizento", or regent. *Originally, Sawai intended to use Gunkan as one of Bo-bobo's allies but decided to use Heppokomaru instead. *Gunkan seems to have more subordinates than any other member of the Maruhage Four Heavenly Kings. *In the English anime dub, Gunkan does not speak for the rest of the series after being defeated by Bo-bobo. References Category:Members of the Maruhage Empire Category:Villains Category:Shinken Users Category:Hajikelists